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Slumping Aoki gets day off vs. Padres

SAN DIEGO -- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke has seen this before from Norichika Aoki.

Occasionally, his outfielder will go through stretches where he rolls over on the ball and starts topping it to the right side of the infield, rather than going with the pitch.

Fortunately, Roenicke thinks a quick solution is as simple as giving Aoki a day off to collect himself and refocus. Mired in a 3-for-34 slump, Aoki was out of the lineup in Monday's series opener against San Diego, but he'll return Tuesday night.

"You can see it in his swing -- when he starts spinning around, it's usually the same thing," Roenicke said. "Last year when we gave him a day off, he'd usually bounce back really well. Hopefully he'll do it again."

Roenicke is concerned with the production at the top of his order, and he said when Aoki returns, he's going to have a tough time deciding who to slot where in the lineup.

"We're trying to figure it out," Roenicke said, despite the fact that his club pulled off a sweep of the Cubs. "We didn't swing the bat well last series. We got some breaks. We got big hits. We can help it and try and get some guys swinging again."

For Roenicke's club, it's been the bottom of the order that has powered their current seven-game winning streak.

"We bring a lot of RBIs," said the red-hot Carlos Gomez, who took home Player of the Week honors on Monday. "The bottom of the lineup, six-seven-eight, has been doing a really good job."

A.J. Cassavell is a reporter for MLB.com Follow him on Twitter @ajcassavell. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.